Johny Hendricks thought he had secured the welterweight title inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena against Georges St. Pierre back in November.

On Saturday night inside the American Airlines Center at UFC 171 in Dallas, 'Bigg Rigg' made things right, outlasting Robbie Lawler in a five-round war to claim the belt vacated by GSP's retirement.

Standing in their respective corners before the start of the fifth and final round, Hendricks and Lawler both urged on the crowd, clearly knowing what was at stake.

A back-and-forth battle through 20 minutes, Hendricks was battered and bloodied, but was also landing enough to not only stay in the conversation but give himself a shot at the outright win.
And that's exactly what he did, digging deep in the final five and catching Lawler with a number of shots, which wobbled the 31-year-old.

“Fifth round, I knew I had to win it — and I did,” Hendricks said, savouring the victory in his hometown. “It means everything. Thank you to you guys. Thank you.”